Militiamen of the Turkish-backed groups Sultan Murad, Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Shamiya have attacked positions of the Syrian army on the Radar Hill in the village of Til Riyhal in Shehba. Ten soldiers are said to have been killed in the fighting and one tank was destroyed.

Apparently the attack could be repulsed. On the side of the jihadists, two members of Jabhat al-Shamiya and two members of the Sultan Murad Brigade are reported to have been killed. The fighting continues, with Turkish reconnaissance drones circling the region.

There are also reports from the region that Turkish-backed militias have taken a Russian base in Tadif, east of Aleppo.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday threatened to attack northwest Syria in connection with the situation in the disputed region around Idlib. "We will do everything possible, including using military force, to end the escalating violence in Idlib,” Erdoğan said in Ankara on Friday. This includes the deployment of the Turkish troops.

Since last week, the Syrian army has been advancing on the last so-called "rebel region" Idlib. On Wednesday, Maarat al-Numan, the second largest city in the province, which has been dominated by "insurgents" since 2012, was recaptured by the Syrian army with the help of the Russian air force.